A motor vehicle steering wheel described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/420,162, filed 11 Apr. 1995 and assigned to the assignee of this invention, is retained on a distal end of a steering shaft by a cross bolt which is screwed into a lateral bore in a metal hub of the steering wheel and which seats in a lateral notch in the distal end of the steering wheel. While such steering wheel is easier to install on the steering shaft than prior steering wheels, separate handling and transportation of the cross bolts complicates vehicle final assembly logistics.